1,000 Workers Labor Round the Clock for MSG $850 Million Renovation

MSG is a $850 million construction site and crews at Madison Square Garden are working to finish the first phase of the renovation. A thousand construction workers have been splitting round-the-clock shifts to complete the first phase of the renovation, which includes a completely new lower bowl, new locker rooms and event-level suites.

New dark blue seats have been installed throughout the lower bowl, and over the next two years will be added throughout the arena. But the seating won’t be entirely monochrome, MSG president Hank Ratner said.

Roughly 1,000 lighter blue seats will be installed in the upper bowl.

The 20 new event-level suites, which are all under contract to “a who’s who of corporate America,” are located directly below the seats and open right onto the lower bowl, Ratner said.

“These are nicer and bigger than most Manhattan apartments,” he said.

The once claustrophobic concourses will now be twice as wide, and feature windows with views of the Farley Post Office.

Much of the work will be completed over the next two summers, including the sky bridges that will each hold 500 seats.

I don’t see what the big deal is. The project is being privately funded by the owner of MSG. The city is not the one who is footing the bill. Let him do what he wants with his own money. If anything, he is giving people jobs with this project.